Abstract
Although science has helped us to identify and measure the threat of soil erosion to food production, we need to cast a wider net for effective solutions. Honest assessment suggests, in fact, that this kind of eco-agri-cultural issue exceeds the traditional boundaries of scientific interest. The issue of soil erosion spills out so many ways that it demands a holistic interdisciplinary approach. In this paper we explore a systems “in context” approach to understanding soil erosion built upon the interplay of Aristotle’s virtues of episteme, techne, and phronesis. We model the synergy of collaboration, where diverse ways of knowing, learning and being in the world can offer proactive soil conservation strategies—those that occur from the inside-out—instead of reactive policies, from the outside-in. We show how positivist scientific attitudes could well impede conservation efforts insofar as they can inhibit educational pedagogies meant to reconnect us to nature. In so doing, we make the ultimate argument that disparate fields of knowledge have much to offer each other and that the true synergy in solutions to soil erosion will come from the intimate interconnectedness of these different ways of knowing, learning and being in the world.
Highlights
Science has helped us to identify and measure the threat of soil erosion to food production, we need to cast a wider net for effective solutions
Techne is the proper rationality for developing knowledge to determine actions that deal with the physical realm; phronesis is the proper rationality for developing knowledge to determine actions that deal with people [5]
Though the word “epistemology” is derived from episteme, it no longer means only one kind of knowing
Summary
Science has helped us to identify and measure the threat of soil erosion to food production, we need to cast a wider net for effective solutions (since the world gets 99.7% of its food calories from land and less than 0.3% from the ocean and other aquatic sources [1,2], truly “casting a wider net” is a fitting metaphor here). We, a scientist who is a teacher and a farmer who is a scholar, explore a systems “in context” approach to understanding soil erosion built upon the interplay of Aristotle’s virtues of episteme, techne, and phronesis—roughly understood as the theoretical “know why” of science, the technical “know how”, and the practical knowledge and ethics [3]. We model the synergy of collaboration, where diverse ways of knowing, learning and being in the world can offer proactive strategies—those that occur from the inside-out—instead of reactive policies, from the outside-in We believe this approach supplies us with soil-conservation solutions superior to those generated through the linear and reductive modes of traditional science, rightfully respected, but not well-matched to our problem. We make the ultimate argument that disparate fields of knowledge have much to offer each other and that the true synergy in solutions to soil erosion will come from the intimate interconnectedness of these different ways of knowing
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
